“Putin? I do not repudiate the past friendship. It is ridiculous to discuss my Atlanticism »- Corriere.it

Rome –
President Silvio Berlusconi, your words on Putin have aroused a hive of controversy, don’t you think you have put the formation of the government in further difficulty?

“Honestly, given the gravity of the international moment and the importance of the decisions to be taken for the future of our country, I thought I had to devote my time to more important things than to rectify distorted and frankly ridiculous interpretations of my thinking. Perhaps all this could be avoided simply by putting aside some bad habits, such as sneaking and secretly recording excerpts of private conversations ».

Private or public those words are his.
“But the whole thing is out of context, it was spread without knowing the global meaning of my words, with the sole purpose of spreading slander and disinformation. Of course my criticism does not go to Courier or to the other major media outlets, which do their duty by communicating the news they receive. It goes towards those who resort to these methods, evidently not knowing any other way to try to put us in difficulty. Do not deceive themselves, I have not been intimidated by many other attacks. But it is disheartening, and not very respectful of Italians, to reduce political discussion to this ».

His reconstruction of the war appears to be the absolutor of the invasion decided by Moscow. Yet you have claimed a political role of guarantee, of you and Forza Italia, on the positioning of Italy at the geopolitical level. Western, European position within NATO. Can you make it clear once and for all?
«I have not given any absolving interpretation to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. On the contrary, I reiterate for the umpteenth – and I hope last – time that my position absolutely coincides with that of the Italian government, the European Union, the Atlantic Alliance, our American allies, and is in clear condemnation of the military attack. against a free and sovereign state. I have repeated it in dozens of statements, Forza Italia has always expressed itself in this sense with words and above all with votes in the Italian and European Parliament. If political and institutional acts have value, and not gossip, there should be no doubt. I want to add, as a further clarification, that I do not at all deny my past friendships with Vladimir Putin, which have led to important results, always achieved in full agreement with our Western allies, such as the 2002 treaty in Pratica di Mare. which ended after more than fifty years of anguish in the Cold War and my intervention in 2008 to prevent the Russian invasion of Georgia. But today the circumstances have changed. The statements that have been snatched from me referred to this and – as I have already had occasion to explain – referred to information that was given to me by authoritative sources and that I reported in the course of a broader reasoning. Reasoning that ended with the condemnation of the Russian invasion and with the hope of a negotiated solution, which would put an end to this massacre and which would protect the rights of the Ukrainian people ”.

There is a passage of those declarations that is unclear, you are hoping for a decisive intervention. Whose?
«I believe that a definitive solution in the war can only be reached with a strong and joint intervention by the United States and the Republic of China. And anyway I repeat: my whole political life and all my acts of government have been in the sense of the West and the Atlantic Alliance. It is truly paradoxical and even ridiculous that it is precisely those who – like the Democratic Party – who stood up for the elections with Fratoianni’s far left, who are voting against NATO in Parliament just a month ago, take the liberty of criticizing me ”.

At what stage is the formation of the government. FI is ready to renounce Justice or do you still want the Keeper of the Seals?
«The formation of the government will begin when the head of state gives the office. We will go to consultations at the Quirinale with the allies of the center-right and we will propose the name of Giorgia Meloni, in line with the electoral result. Of course we are reasoning with our allies, in a completely informal way, on hypotheses that will take shape when the President of the Republic decides to share our indication. In this regard, it seems to me that a high-profile institutional figure such as the former president of the Senate can give the most adequate guarantees for a delicate position such as that of Minister of Justice ”.

You have claimed equal dignity with the League, for representation in the executive. Do you think he will be satisfied?
“I believe it is an even obvious necessity, again on the basis of the indications of the electorate, which gave the Lega and Forza Italia an almost identical number of votes. Forza Italia has already been penalized, with respect to this percentage, in the distribution of single-member constituencies, which have led to 20 deputies and 10 senators less than the League. This is why we have not expressed either the presidency of the Senate or that of the Chamber. Of course, all this must be taken into account. The center-right is made up of three political forces, each of which is numerically and politically essential to the life of the future government ”.

What was the purpose of the meeting with Carlo Nordio?
“It was an opportunity to re-tie the threads of an ancient knowledge, I met a person of great legal depth that I have always esteemed and appreciated“.

Are you optimistic about a recomposition of the disagreements with the premier in pectore? Do you think the new government will be sworn in on Sunday or Monday?
“I don’t think it’s a question of one day more or less. I believe that what matters is to offer the Italians a strong, cohesive and authoritative government. I have no doubt about this. In addition, I would not speak of disagreements, but of normal discussions between allied, loyal, but different political forces. We continue to see real divisions among our opponents on the left ”.